Smaragdine
by elanev91
Summary: Sixth year James discovers couplets and learns that there are so, so many ways to say 'green.' Lily love/hates it. Nonsense ensues. Thanks to my lovely tumblr friends, levins18 and petalstofish for this inspiration.


**Levins and Petals, my lovely tumblr bffs, and I had a conversation about the amazing "smaragdine" - I wrote this RIDICULOUS fic. Pretty sure this counts as some kind of crack fic, pretty sure I don't care.**

 **Enjoy loves xx**

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It started, as these things do, as one of James' incredibly stupid plans.

Lily was sitting in the Great Hall, alone at the Gryffindor table, because 730 was, apparently, far too early for anyone to wake up on Sunday morning. She'd taken to eating her breakfast alone on the weekends as soon as she woke up - Saturdays were occasionally a bit busier (with quidditch matches and Hogsmeade weekends and the like), but Sundays were always quiet until gone nine. At first, the silence had been weird, but now she really enjoyed the time alone. She could let her mind wander, read a muggle novel her parents had sent her, read the paper… it was time to relax and reflect that she didn't usually get when everyone else was awake and shouting about something (because Marlene and Dorcas found it physically impossible to do anything quietly).

That morning, the _Prophet_ owl had dropped off her paper shortly after she finished her porridge, and Lily poured herself another cuppa tea, opened the paper and started scanning the headlines. She hadn't realised anyone else was there until James plopped down next to her on the bench, slung his arm around her shoulders, "How're you, Evans?"

Lily started, sloshed a bit of tea down her front, "Why the hell are _you_ awake?"

James shrugged, "Couldn't sleep. I'm starving, though, and the boys won't be up for hours. Now, back to my question, Evans."

Lily slid out from under his arm, pulled her wand out to clean her shirt, and took a sip of her tea, straightened her newspaper, "I'm reading the _Prophet,_ James, how do you think I am?"

James sighed, poured himself a cup of pumpkin juice, "Ah. Have your smaragdine orbs spotted anything worth sharing this morning?"

Lily snorted, set her paper down, turned towards James on the bench, " _What?!"_

James took a sip of his juice and grinned at her, "It's a fancy word for green."

"Where the _fuck_ did you learn that?!"

James dumped a bunch of eggs onto his plate, "Remus has a thesaurus up in the dorm that we - "

"You lot actually put _effort_ into your essays now?!"

James smirked, "Let me finish, Evans. _Remus_ uses it for his essays, but Sirius, Peter, and I usually flip through it to find stupid words."

Lily rolled her eyes, took a bite of her toast, "Of course you do."

"And last night, Sirius and I were - uh," James stuffed a hand in his hair, "anyway, we were looking up some words and we found a whole _bunch_ of words that mean green."

"Why were you looking up words that mean green?"

"Nevermind that, Evans. Point is, we came up with a plan that I think you're going to like."

"By 'think you're going to like' do you mean that I'm going to completely hate it?"

James laughed, dropped his arm over her shoulder again, "Probably, Evans, probably. But my poet's heart won't let me rest until we've tested it out anyway."

"Your… Potter, _what are you planning?_ "

James just grinned, pulled his arm off her shoulders, shoveled an entire fried egg into his mouth, "Just wait and see, Evans."

James, never one for patience, didn't make her wait long.

He caught up with her on his way back down to the Great Hall later that morning. He had his arm around Remus' shoulders as they walked through the Entrance Hall, doubled over in laughter about something Peter was saying, when he spotted Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas sitting halfway up the Gryffindor table.

"Evans," he said, pulling his arm from Remus' shoulders as the approached, "fancy seeing you here again."

Marlene raised an eyebrow at Lily, "Again?"

Lily took a sip of her tea, "James was here this morning when I came down for breakfast," she turned to James, "What are you doing back, Potter?"

James sat down next to her, Remus on his left, Sirius and Peter across from them, "Double breakfast! Best part about getting up early. And, of course, seeing you," he looked at Lily, stupid smile on his face, "Oh, Lily with your eyes so kelly, you give me butterflies in my belly."

Everyone immediately burst into laughter, and Sirius snorted pumpkin juice out of his nose before he shook his head at James, "You had _all night_ and that's the best you could come up with?!"

James shrugged, "It's not on the level of that bloke we talked about in Muggle Studies last week, but it's my first one. I'll get there."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Your _first_ one?!"

James grinned, stuffed a bite of toast into his mouth, "I told you, Evans. My poet's heart can't be contained."

Remus snorted, Sirius hit him in the face with a bit of muffin, but James just winked and took another bite of his toast.

He started catching up with her every day, giving her a new couplet at some point whenever they crossed paths.

On Monday morning, he caught her again at breakfast, Remus in tow, and told her that "It would be such a loss, if I couldn't see your eyes of moss."

Marlene and Dorcas spent the rest of the day shouting at her about plants (shouting that increased tenfold when they made their way down to the greenhouses for Herbology after lunch).

On Tuesday, he looped his arm through her's on the way to Charms, informed her that "For one another we were made, me and Lily with her eyes of jade."

She snorted, turned to Sirius, "Did you lot help him write these or?"

Sirius laughed, "Fuck no, Evans. Prat's all on his own with these."

He didn't find her until after lunch on Wednesday, and she almost thought he'd forgotten. He smiled broadly at her when he sat down next to her in Arithmancy and said "Lily dear, your eyes so mint, aren't you glad I can't take a hint?"

She'd tried to ignore his other ones (mostly because she knew that reacting in any way would only encourage him), but she couldn't help elbowing him in the ribs for that one. Though Lily would never, ever admit it, she actually kind of liked James' stupid poems. They were horrible, stupid, and completely ridiculous, but they were also sweet in that obnoxiously charming way that was just so James. Annoyingly, by the end of the week, she found herself almost looking forward to them. Almost.

On Thursday, he dropped an arm around her shoulders on their way down to double Potions, "Your eyes are as green as the forest, perhaps we should book a wedding florist."

Lily snorted, "What?"

James shrugged, "Don't you want flowers at our wedding?"

Lily burst out laughing, "Oh, we're getting married now?"

James pressed his hand into her shoulder, pulled her closer into his side, "My couplets will convince you one day."

Lily bumped her hip against his, smiled up at him, "You know, somehow I doubt that."

"And yet," James grinned at her, "here we are, walking through the corridor like a regular old couple-et."

Lily groaned and poked him in the side, "I hate you _so much_."

Marlene fell into line next to them, her arm around Dorcas' waist, and shot Lily an amused look, "Looks like it, Evans." Lily groaned, slid out from under James' arm, "Fuck off, McKinnon."

He didn't catch up with her until late in the evening on Friday. She was sitting on the couch in the Gryffindor common room, working on their homework with Remus, Peter, and Dorcas when James, Sirius, and Marlene barrelled through the portrait hole, still grumbling about something that had happened at practice. He fell down next to her on the sofa, his hair still wet from his post-quidditch shower, and rested his head in her lap. She huffed, "Excuse me, you're going to get my Potions essay all wet!"

James just smiled up at her, "I know you're all whipped up in a rage, but nothing's better than your eyes of sage."

She rolled her eyes and whacked him in the forehead with the end of her quill, "Get up, you git."

James laughed, pulled himself up and spun on the couch, rested his feet in her lap instead, "This better?"

Lily shrugged, rested her book on his shins, and resumed writing her essay, "Just don't fidget, you'll fuck up my writing."

James propped his arm up on the back of the sofa, rested his head on his hand, "I won't move a muscle, Evans."

On Saturday morning, he trotted up to her and Dorcas on the way to the quidditch pitch, Sirius and Marlene on his heels, turned around and started walking backwards in front of her, "Your eyes are such a delightful beryl, without them my life will be in peril."

"You could have made a _much_ more interesting rhyme with 'feral'," Lily said, smirking.

James groaned, "Damn it, you're right."

"Come on, Potter," Marlene yelled, about halfway down the hill now, "we have scouting to do!"

James shot Lily a grin, "Duty calls my virescent love."

He took off down the hill as she shouted, "You're so stupid, Potter!"

On Sunday, James found her alone at breakfast again, smiled warmly as he sat down beside her and started piling sausages onto his plate, "Looking into your eyes deep and verdant, my love for you becomes oh so certain."

She snorted, "You know, I used to think you'd get _better_ at this, but it's been a week now and these are just as bad. That one didn't even rhyme."

James hit her in the side of the head with a bit of toast, "They might not be the best poetry in the world, but you love them, Evans."

"Do I, Potter," she asked, smirking at him and taking a draught of her tea, "Are you sure about that?"

James just grinned, shrugged, and turned back to his plate.

On Monday, the Marauders sat with Lily, Dorcas, and Marlene at breakfast again, but James spent the time talking quidditch strategy with Sirius and Marlene. Lily chatted with Remus, Dorcas, and Peter about muggle movies, but she'd found herself thinking more often than she was willing to admit about James' stupid poems. By late afternoon, James still hadn't given her a couplet. She caught up with him in the corridor as they left Defense Against the Dark Arts, didn't notice James shoot Remus, Sirius, and Peter a look that made them turn immediately on their heels and start off down the corridor in the opposite direction.

"What," Lily said, shooting him a look, as James turned and began walking slowly down the hall, "no couplet today? Give up already?"

James thought for a moment before he smirked down at her, "Olive you"

Lily raised her eyebrow, "That's not a couplet."

"It's true, though."

Lily rolled her eyes, but the smile tugging at the corner of her lips gave her away, "Fuck off, James."

James grinned, gave her a sweeping bow, "As you wish my viridescent princess."

He straightened up, still beaming at her, and started walking backwards down the corridor, his eyes trained on hers. She didn't like the knowing look in his eyes, the look that said he knew just how much she liked his stupid little rhymes, just how charming she found his stupid arse. She huffed, rummaged through her bag, pulled out an apple she'd taken from lunch and lobbed it at him, hoping to hit his stupid face so he'd stop smirking at her like that.

He caught it and she groaned loudly in annoyance (he always caught her makeshift weapons). He just smirked wider, "A lovely chartreuse. I'll use this to remember you by while I'm in Muggle Studies. See you in Transfiguration, Evans."

He took a bite, winked, and turned on his heel. Lily wished she had something else (and preferably something heavier) to throw.


End file.
